Network for better marketing, eastern film units told

Kolkata, Nov 11 (IANS) The film industries in the eastern states of India should come together to network and market their films in an optimum way, Sandipan Chakraborty, the eastern region chairman of industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said here Tuesday.”The turnover of the regional film industries in eastern India, including Bengali, Bhojpuri and Santhali film industries is still negligible because there is a lack of networking and marketing,” Chakraborty said.

He said there are national and international markets for these films. In order to optimise their turnover they have to come together, Chakraborty told reporters at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival here.

Declining to give any exact turnover figures, Chakraborty said there are potential markets for small-budget regional films in and outside India.

“There are potential markets for eastern regional films in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, as well as the US, Middle-East and South-East Asia. And so, CII has decided follow a 4-tier structure to promote these films - financing, developing infrastructure, marketing and sustaining competition.”

“To start with, we are planning to simultaneously release these films in other states, and also promote regional films and their music abroad. We are also planning to go for co-producing Bengali films with Bangladesh, keeping in mind the large Bengali population there,” Chakraborty added.

Chakraborty was speaking at the inauguration of ‘The Film Market-2008′ - a common platform for the eastern regional film producers to showcase and promote their films at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival.

‘The Film Market’, being organised by CII, Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) and the West Bengal state government for the fourth consecutive year, focuses on marketing and increasing the revenues of Bengali and regional films.

As many as 276 films from 62 countries, 44 short films, eight documentaries and seven children’s movies are being shown at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival that kicked off here Monday.